In this May 6, 2020, file photo, a Hertz car rental is closed during the coronavirus pandemic in Paramus, N.J. Two investment firms are looking to take at least a controlling stake in rental car company Hertz for up to $4.2 billion and help it emerge from bankruptcy protection. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said Tuesday, March 2, 2021 that Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Opportunities will have the chance to buy the entire reorganized business, but no less than a majority of its shares. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
In a deal to jettison itself from under bankruptcy protection, Hertz said Tuesday that it may sell a controlling stake in the company to two investment firms for $4.2 billion.
Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Opportunities will have the chance to buy the entire reorganized car rental company, but no less than a majority of its shares, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said.
Hertz was among the first major corporations to be felled by the pandemic last year as infections surged and shut down travel on a global scale for both companies and vacationers.
Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020. Sales growth went into negative territory almost immediately, but the 100-year-old company was already experiencing some turmoil. When it entered bankruptcy protection, Hertz named its fourth chief executive in six years.
However, with the rollout of a suite of vaccines for the coronavirus, pent up wanderlust is expected to explode. Investors are pouring money into almost any company that caters to travelers. Share of major airlines are up between 20% and 40% this year. Cruise, lines, hotels and resorts are getting similar interest.
In this atmosphere, Certares and Knighthead recently formed the CK Opportunities Fund, which concentrates on investments in travel and leisure.
Hertz, based in Estero, Florida, said the proposed investment, combined with a new $1 billion first-lien financing, a new $1.5 billion revolving credit facility, and a new asset-backed securitization facility to finance its U.S. vehicle fleet, will provide the funding needed for the company to complete its restructuring and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early to mid summer.
The proposed plan still needs court approval. A hearing is set for April 16.
7 Cloud Computing Stocks to Lift Your Portfolio to New HeightsCloud computing sounds complicated, and it has become more sophisticated as it evolves. However, the basic idea behind the cloud is the same. The “cloud” is a euphemistic term for the delivery of different services via the internet. In its early days, the cloud was used exclusively for data storage. Here’s an easy example of why this was important.
Back when the internet was cutting its teeth, I worked in marketing communications. The need to comply with Total Quality Control Systems (TQCS) for our largest clients meant we had to save every version of our files. Every. Single. One.
Now imagine that you’re producing a 120-page product catalog complete with photos and charts. Your hard drive is burning up just thinking about it. Yet that “data” had to be stored somewhere. And so we had a virtual server farm to try to warehouse all these graphic intensive (and memory sucking) files until we could archive them.
Other than the storage nightmare, consider that it was a pain to work remotely. You could copy a file from the server, but then were you working on the right file? I’m sure at least one person is reading this who remembers this pain.
The cloud takes that away. Cloud computing allows you to store files on a secure, remote server that everyone can access anywhere they have an internet connection. But it’s become so much more than that. Cloud computing now gives businesses a platform from which they can create applications and software. If that sounds confusing, I hope to simplify it in this presentation.
To help you understand which cloud computing stocks, you may want to add to your portfolio, and we’ve created this special presentation. These are seven of the cloud computing stocks that will continue to grow with the sector.
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